Environmental Quality Free Essay Example, 750 words

Environmental Quality Although in years past, the Twin Cities have had problems with the quality of air pollution and environmental pollution, manythings have been done since then to help vacate themselves of the problem. In fact, the Twin Cities have done so well that Minneapolis is recognized as the only metropolitan city that follows the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol was established as a guideline for air pollution and to reduce emission levels of unsafe gases in the air, and Minneapolis has become the only American city to follow it. This is just the beginning on many of the actions people living around the Metro Area have done to improve environmental status. There have been many government funded agencies which have helped to do testing and figure out ways in which to improve our ecosystem. Minnesota has always been on the forefront in environmental safety. Interestingly enough, one of my teachers has joined the board who helps to decide how many and what types of products must be purchased which are deemed environmentally safe for our state. They help to set guidelines on what kinds of materials can be used and how much must be spent on environmentally safe products versus unsafe products. These are only a few of the things done to help improve the quality of the environment around our area. We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental Quality or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Local groups have been organizing clean up days and if you ever stroll down Minneapolis, you'll notice how amazingly clean it has become. In fact, sometimes when I take the bus and check out downtown Minneapolis, I barely see a newspaper thrown on the ground somewhere. There are, however, many different things which can be done to help improve the environmental status of the Twin Cities. For instance, increase recycling announcements could be made. Many people I know don't even know where to drop off their items which can be recycled. Bulletins and fliers could be produced and distributed around apartments and dropped off at people's houses with numbers to call an addresses for places to drop off their waste materials. In doing so, we can reduce the amount of trash which is incinerated and put into land-fills, which both create many major environmental problems. Land-fills in particular help to attribute to the funny taste in water in many cities around the Twin Cities. Speaking of which, more treatment plants and more strict rules on these plants could be enforced. One idea which could be considered is the development of Bio Water Treatment Centers, which have become popular and beginning to be developed all over in Europe. In fact, back in Hutchinson Minnesota, they have passes legislative measure which have given funding for such a water treatment center. Minneapolis in particular could benefit from the center, since it has always been on the forefront of technology, and according to Popular Science magazine, it is considered the most technologically advanced city in all of the United States. Why not help to increase that by including a rare Bio Treatment facility? And not only would the facility help to improve tourism and improve the status of Minneapolis, it would also provide a much safer and ultimately cheaper way to treat water. Instead of using harsh chemicals which must be disposed of at various chemical dump sites, Bio Treatment centers use bacteria to eat away at the waste in water. This results in no harsh chemicals and no toxic waste from water treatment facilities, and the same bacteria can be used over and over again, which makes it much cheaper than buying new chemicals all of the time. There are hundreds of ways, once again, that we can improve the environment of the Metro Area, it just needs public attention. Increased environmental advertising and funding for environmental projects could help to stem the flow of pollution and make this one of the most environmentally safe areas on the planet. In the end, it comes down to funding. There are plenty of ways you can organize funding, like donating to local health agencies including United Way, and WHO (World Health Organization). You can get together with your community and help to create field days to spread health awareness to your local neighborhood. And you can always write or call your government officials and express your concern. In the end, only the community banding together can help return the blue horizon instead of the gray future we are now entering. References 1 City Rank Minneapolis, (1997) A document containing many statistics and percentages about health relations, and in this reference, was used to show how Minneapolis ranks in the top 50% overall for health issues. 2 City Rank Minneapolis, (1997) A section on heart disease was referenced, and I pulled the statistic about how Detroit ranks number one for heart disease deaths and Minneapolis has one of the lowest rates 3 Wikipedia, University of Minnesota System, (viewed November 27, 2005) This document provided statistics about the demographical make-up and general history of the University of Minnesota, and how over 50,000 students are currently enrolled within it. Retrieved from the web at http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/University_of_Minnesota_system 4 Ashley Logan, personal interview and conversation Using parts of a past interview, I talked about the tobacco ban and its effects on patrons within the metro area. She commented on seeing less patrons around many places since they no longer allow smoking. 5 Boynton Health Services, U of M Tobacco Brochure (2004) A brochure showing charts and graphs of tobacco use and its link to alcohol and drug use, also where I garnered the fact that regular U of M smokers are more than 6 times more likely to use Marijuana than non-smokers (Back page of brochure) 6 Capitol Roundup, Article of Prostitution in the Twin Cities The location of where I came up with my 14 year old prostitute statistic and where I received the numbers of underage prostitutes. Retrieved from http: //www. hometownsource. com/capitol/1999/november/1104teens. html.